Romeo and Juliet - Gnomeo and Juliet

This is my last Romeo and Juliet for this project, and it’s not really a Romeo and Juliet. Gnomeo and Juliet is clearly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and takes many of its plot points from Shakespeare’s play, but it owes as much to Shakespeare as it does to landscape design and Elton John. 

Gnomeo and Juliet are garden gnomes in neighboring gardens. The homeowners’ gardening rivalry has carried over to the culture of their gnomes, who of course come to life when the homeowners are looking the other way. The gnomes’ mutual animosity is expressed in mischief, typically centered around drag racing souped-up self-propelled lawnmowers in  an alley between the yards. This occasionally leads to breakage, which is equivalent to death in the gnome world, although it is possible to be glued back together, which takes away some of the sting.

Gnomeo is voiced by James McAvoy, who is surprisingly unlikable through most of the movie. Shakespeare never went through great pains to make us like Romeo (to me he’s always seemed to be a cardboard cutout of a romantic hero), but Gnomeo, whether it’s the writing or the acting, is kind of a jerk. McAvoy is best known as Young Professor Xavier in X-Men: First Class. Action film star Jason Stratham provides the voice for Gnomeo’s drag racing rival Tybalt. It’s his usual one-note performance, but as a voice actor, he doesn’t need to punctuate his lines by kicking someone in the throat, so that takes away much of his skill-set. Emily Blunt does okay as Juliet. Since this doesn’t use Shakespeare’s lines, she doesn’t have nearly the challenge faced by Ann Hasson, Olivia Hussey, Rebecca Saire, and Claire Danes, so it’s not really fair to make a comparison.

It does not use Shakespeare’s language, although there are a few quotes sprinkled in here and there. It’s almost enough to make a Shakespeare fan happy. I can’t really count this as a Romeo and Juliet, though. It’s not in the same category as the Kemp-Welch, the Zefirelli, the Luhrmann, or the Rakoff. As an adaptation of the story, I enjoyed West Side Story more, and the ballet version less. It’s a cute and funny movie, but I’m going to rank Gnomeo and Juliet as my sixth favorite Romeo and Juliet.

Here’s my ranking of Romeo and Juliets that I’ve seen. #1 is the one I’d take to a desert island. With a DVD player. And a generator. I’d like to say that I never want to seen #8 again, but to be honest, I’d probably watch all of them again if I had the time. Even bad Shakespeare is still Shakespeare. If I ever watch more, I’ll add them. If your favorite isn’t listed, let me know, but for now I’m going to move on to my favorite of the history plays - Richard II!:

Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Joan Kemp-Welch. Perf. Christopher Neame, Ann Hasson, and Robin Nedwell. Thames Television, 1976. DVD, A&E Television Networks, 2005.

Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, and John McEnery. 1968. netflix.com, 19 SEP 2013.

Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, and Harold Perrineau. 1996. DVD, Twentieth Century Fox, 2007.

Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Alvin Rakoff. Perf. Patrick Ryecart, Rebecca Saire, and Anthony Andrews. 1978. DVD, Ambrose, 2000.

West Side Story. Dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Perf. Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, and George Chakiris. 1961. DVD, MGM Home Entertainment, 2003.

Gnomeo and Juliet. Dir. Kelly Asbury. Perf. James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, and Jason Stratham. 2011. DVD, Buena Vista, 2011.

Romeo and Juliet. Chor. Kenneth MacMillan. Perf. Angel Corella, Alessandra Ferri, and Michele Villanova. Teatro Alla Scala, Milan, JAN 2000. DVD, Euroarts, 2002.

Shakespeare Series: Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Larry Sullivan. Perf. Alex Hyde-White, Blanche Baker, and Dan Hamilton. Shakespeare Video Society, 1982. Amazon.com, 15 AUG 2013.